Tuesday, December 31, 2013

It's hard to believe that 2013 is coming to a close, it's been quite the year! We will be spending New Year's Eve with my parents, having a nice dinner and enjoying some time together. I wasn't in the mood for going out or a loud party so this was a great idea.

January

I got focused on getting healthy and trying out Weight Watchers. I was successful for a short time, but like most times I have tried to loose weight I lost sight of my goals.

We made a trip to Amish Country with Andrew's parents.

I made up with an old friend from high school and it was so good to have her back in my life again!

I started looking for a new job.

February

My brother purchased his first home and got laid off for a short time just three weeks later.

My mom's stepmother passed away and I traveled to PA with my parents for her funeral.

We hit a deer with my car on the way to Andrew's parents house on a chilly, early Saturday morning but thankfully the damage was minimal.

Andrew and I headed to Hocking Hills to celebrate our 5 year anniversary and had a wonderful time. Though the weather was a little crummy, we still managed to spend a lot of time together talking and relaxing and it was just what we needed.

Our niece turned one year old.

We filmed a segment on our local Metro Parks for the news and it was a lot of fun!

Andrew started on the diesel engine swap in our Dodge truck.

March

Andrew and I headed to Detroit for his 2012 work awards and he was named Mechanic of the Year! I was such a proud wife that evening, he works so hard and really deserved to win!

My brother turned 24.

I had several promising interviews for new jobs this month after several months of applying at various companies and organizations.

I took my mom to see Bon Jovi as a belated birthday gift, we had a blast!

I went to Muncie, IN with my sister-in-law for a girls weekend, we had so much fun dancing, drinking and laughing. It was just what I needed after a stressful start to the year.

April

I left my previous employer at the beginning of the month and started my new job. The change was just what I needed and my mood improved drastically over the next month.

I celebrated my sister-in-laws last night out as a single woman and man was it a night/weekend!

May

My baby brother got married the first weekend of the month and it was such an amazing day. I could not have asked for a better sister-in-law to join our family. Little did I know the change that was about to come the next weekend.

I discovered that I was pregnant the weekend after the wedding, Mother's Day weekend. We only told close family until I went for my first doctor appointment.

Andrew completed his diesel engine swap project.

I celebrated my 28th birthday with a low key dinner of Mexican food with Andrew and some cake and presents with my family.

June

After going to my first doctor appointment and confirming the pregnancy, we announced to our friends and the rest of our family that we were expecting.

Our dog Bessie got really sick and we were scared to death that she wouldn't recover. Thankfully our amazing vet and his vet techs along with my mother in law, were able to nurse her back to health. It was a rough few weeks but she's back to her old self.

I had my first ultrasound and it was pretty crazy to see that little bean on the screen in the doctor's office.

July

We celebrated the 4th of July with a rainy and crummy weekend. I was just ending the first trimester and still not feeling too hot.

I had the ultrascreen for the baby to check for Downs Syndrome and Triostomy 18 and everything came back normal. My best friend came with me since Andrew had an important work meeting and the ultrasound took FOREVER! But it was so neat to see the baby moving and grooving!

We celebrated Andrew's company winning region of the year with a hotel stay and party in Downtown Columbus.

I did quite a bit of canning and freezing with my brother.

I went to the Under the Sun tour with my good friend Amanda to see all of our fave 90's rock bands and we had a blast!

August

I finally began the second trimester and was feeling worlds better.

We planned our anniversary/babymoon trip to Florida.

September

At the beginning of the month we were thrilled to find out we were having a baby girl after months of totally being convinced that little baby was a boy! I was in complete shock but excited at the same time.

We attended the wedding of one of my childhood friends and it was a beautiful fall ceremony with a lovely outdoor reception.

I finally started feeling the baby move around and man it was so crazy and weird for the first few weeks.

We traveled to Florida for a week in the middle of the month and had an amazing time.

Andrew was finally able to feel the baby move for the very first time.

We celebrated our one year anniversary on September 22nd, the day after we arrived home from vacation. We didn't do anything to over the top since we had just been gone for a week, we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant and relaxed together at home.

October

After a few very rough weeks dealing with anxiety and depression related to my pregnancy, I got some help from my midwife and started to feel worlds better.

Andrew turned 31 at the beginning of the month, we didn't do anything too exciting and had dinner out together and celebrated with his family and mine the following weekend.

We started planning the decor for the baby's room after I bought an adorable, gently used bedding set from Ebay (Pottery Barn kids woot woot).

My dad turned 56 at the end of the month.

My brother and his wife had their first ever Halloween party and it was so much fun! Even if I couldn't drink, there was lots of yummy food and believe me I chowed down all night!

I finally entered the third trimester!

Andrew painted the nursery after it took me FOREVER to get the room cleaned out!

November

I had my first baby shower in Pennsylvania with my aunts and cousins. They were so generous and I realized that our daughter would be better dressed than me!

I had my glucose screening and passed with flying colors.

My amazing sister-in-law took our maternity pictures.

I made it through a huge event at work that I basically had to run by myself. That was the first day my feet were swollen during the entire pregnancy. It was a long day but a very successful event!

I had my second baby shower a few weeks before Thanksgiving hosted by my mom and my good friend Laura. Once again, I was so overwhelmed by the generosity of our family and friends as well as the great company and fun everyone had together.

The nursery project kept on going through this month as I put things away from both of my showers. We brought over the crib from my parents house, the changing table from my in-laws which they painted to match the crib and got the room set up. My mom very graciously volunteered to wash all the baby clothes, sheets and bedding which was a huge help.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with my family and my brother held the celebration at his house.

December

We bought our first fake Christmas tree because I was not in the mood to deal with a real one. Plus I figured if I went into labor early or something happened, we didn't need to worry about taking it down.

We finally got the nursery completed and started to anxiously await the arrival of the baby.

This was by far the hardest month for me with the pregnancy. I had a lot of pain and discomfort, nights with little to no sleep, awful heartburn and so many other not fun symptoms. It was really hard to get into the Christmas spirit.

We celebrated Christmas Eve at my parents house with our traditional Polish dinner, Christmas Day was spent with Andrew's family and the rest of my family came into town on the 28th for one last Christmas celebration!

Here's to 2014, I can't even begin to imagine how our lives are going to change but I couldn't be more excited for the future!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Happy Tuesday all!!! Sorry for my absence. For those who might be wondering, I am indeed still pregnant and 35 weeks and 1 day as of today (I hope to actually post a bumpdate soon, maybe tomorrow) but I just wanted to let everyone know what has been going on!

I have been pretty miserable for the last two weeks. Last Monday I got to work and as I was waiting for the elevator, sharp pains started shooting through my groin all the way up through my belly. It literally took my breath away and I got on the elevator and waddled to my desk. I chugged down a bottle of water and waited to see if the pain would go away. After about 15 minutes, the pains started again and I called Andrew to see what he though I should do. My midwife's office didn't open till 8am and it was about 7:30 so I called to see if I needed to come in. They made me an appointment for 10am just to make sure everything was okay. I was taken back and weighed (I lost 2lbs somehow), my blood pressure was done and it was normal and I gave a urine sample to check for other issues. Once I was taken back to the room, I noticed I was in one of the ultrasound rooms and was told to undress from the waist down for a cervical check to make sure I wasn't dilated. Thank goodness Andrew had taken this day off work and met me at the doctor, I was pretty freaked out.

After my test results came back there was nothing abnormal other than the fact that I was slightly dehydrated. The doctor came in (not my normal midwife, she was off that day) and checked to see if I had dilated at all, which thankfully I had not. The baby however is still head down which was the cause of my discomfort that day. She told me to take it easy so I headed home to try and relax for the rest of the day.

Since that appointment I haven't been feeling all that great. I keep thinking how easy the beginning of the pregnancy was and what I complained about then; it is nothing compared to how I feel now. I don't sleep well most nights between my unquenchable thirst, need to go to the bathroom and the inability to stay comfortable. I can't eat too much in one sitting or else my stomach gets super hard. I waddle pretty bad when I walk and getting up and down from a chair or in and out of the car are a daily struggle. I have Braxton Hicks occasionally but they are usually at night and go away pretty quickly. I feel like my stomach is getting higher when I thought at this time the baby should be starting to drop. I have been whiny, needy, fussy and all out crabby which I am sure my dear husband really enjoys!

My next doctor appointment is December 27th and then I go to once a week appointments! Part of me hopes that little one arrives maybe a week early, but I have a feeling that is not going to happen. I really want to go to into labor on my own, but at this point with my level of discomfort I just want her to come out safe and healthy no matter what that might mean.

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Welcome

I'm Amanda, mom to my sweet daughter, wife to a mechanic and fur mom to a rescue cat. I'm a working mom and I wear many hats (maybe too many). I love to write about my daughter, life, fitness, cooking and our various family hobbies. In my free time I enjoy Sudoku puzzles, photography, reading, being outdoors, spending time with family and friends and of course writing and blogging! Thanks for stopping by!

Have any questions? Feel free to email me at amiller53085@gmail.com and I will get back to you in 24 hours!